COAST TO COAST

Locally
based Georgia-Pacific Corp. signed as title sponsor of the NASCAR Winston
Cup Qualifying Day at Atlanta Motor Speedway this fall. The three-year
agreement begins Nov. 17 when the Winston Cup Qualifying Day kicks off
the NAPA 500 weekend. Georgia-Pacific has been a secondary sponsor of
racing events for the past seven years, but this event will be the companys
first title sponsorship. Qualifying Day was sponsored last year by Georgia
Boot, which now sponsors the ARCA Georgia Boot 400 as part of the same
race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Dome schedules renovations

The
Georgia Dome is scheduled to have its Kickers Lounge sports bar
renovated this year. Half of the space will remain a traditional sports
bar for adults, with the other half being converted into a family restaurant
with special features for children. Each will have its own kitchen and
dining area. Dome officials said the facility also is scheduled to upgrade
its closed-circuit security system with new camera locations.

Smoltz lends voice to TBS

Injured
Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz was a guest commentator in the TBS
booth for the teams May 21 game against San Diego. Smoltz recently
underwent surgery on his right elbow to repair a torn ligament and is
expected to miss the entire season.

AUSTIN, TEXAS

Memorabilia firm signs deal

Sports Investments International plans to begin
offering news about autographed sports memorabilia developments from
locally based Sweet Spot magazine. The alliance is a non-exclusive one-year
deal that gives sports memorabilia vendors access to articles on the
memorabilia market. Sweet Spot, a subsidiary of Austin-based Kaufman
Communications, looks to benefit from increased traffic on its Web site,
sweetspotnews.com.

BALTIMORE

Fans take final look at stadium

The Maryland Stadium Authority reopened Baltimore's Memorial Stadium
recently for tours of the complex, which is scheduled to be demolished
in the summer of 2001. Attendance at the daylong event was not released,
but several thousand people were expected to pay the $5 admission for
a tour of the locker rooms, grandstands and playing field at the stadium.
To help pay for the $10 million demolition, the state agency and the
Babe Ruth Museum are auctioning off more than 25,000 seats, signs and
lockers. Memorial Stadium was home to Baltimore's Orioles, Colts and
Ravens, who played their last game at the stadium in fall 1997.

BOSTON

Red Sox detail ballpark plans

Boston Red Sox CEO John Harrington released the
team's financial plan for construction of The New Fenway Park, a $627
million development project. Team officials said they will put up $352
million and proposed the remaining $275 million come from the city and
state. Harrington's plan is for the city to provide $140 million for
the project and the state to provide $135 million. Massachusetts House
members were scheduled to meet last Wednesday to review the proposal.

BUFFALO

Bills
Caravan rides again

The
Buffalo Bills launched the teams 2000 Bills Caravan. The promotional
effort will make stops in western New York, southern Ontario and northern
Pennsylvania. This is the third year the Bills have employed the marketing
tour, featuring current and former players at all 20 stops. Many of
the tour visits will be conducted at Wegmans stores. The Rochester,
N.Y.-based grocer is among the Bills biggest corporate sponsors.

NCAA drives hotel occupancy

Local
hotel occupancy in March shot up 8.6 percent from the year before, driven
largely by the city hosting first- and second-round games of the NCAA
mens basketball tournament this year. According to Smith Travel
Research statistics, occupancy this March was 64.3 percent, up from
59.2 percent in March 1999. Occupancy at hotels in nearby Niagara Falls
also increased, to 32.4 percent from 30.2 percent.

CALGARY

Flames counting on local support

The Calgary Flames are approaching the city's 400 largest companies
in hopes of selling an additional 2,000 season tickets in a push for
increased local support. Team owners have said they would sell the team
if 14,000 season tickets are not sold by June 30. The team recently
had sold almost 10,300 season tickets, up from 9,000 for this past season.
Molson Inc. also agreed to contribute $1 to the team's drive for every
dozen Molson Canadian beers sold locally through June 18. Tickets purchased
with those funds will be donated to community groups.

CHARLOTTE

Camp leaves Checkers post

Charlotte Checkers President and General Manager Steve Camp has left
the franchise. Camp, whose contract expired May 15, had been with the
Checkers for two years. The team was sold to Charlotte Hornets co-owners
Ray Wooldridge and George Shinn last month. That sale was to close Wednesday.

CINCINNATI

Griffey graces Wheaties box

Ken Griffey Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds is featured on a new Wheaties
box unveiled earlier this month at Cinergy Field. The limited-edition
package became available last week in Ohio stores. Outside Ohio, boxes
can be purchased online at generalmills.com. The box features Griffey
on the front, Cinergy Field and the Cincinnati skyline in the background,
and the words "Welcome Home Ken Griffey Jr."

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.

Sky Sox may get new home

Developer Earl Robertson hopes to see a downtown
Colorado Springs stadium for the Colorado Sky Sox. Robertson is working
on a plan to give the Class AAA team a 10,000-seat stadium by 2003.
The team currently plays in a 13-year-old stadium in the northeastern
part of the city. There currently is no timetable for the project.

DALLAS-FORT WORTH

Westwood extends bowl rights

Westwood One signed a three-year extension of its contract for exclusive
national radio rights for the annual Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl,
played in Dallas. Westwood One serves more than 7,500 radio stations
and is managed by Infinity Broadcasting Corp.

DENVER

Broncos facing federal investigation

The Federal Election Commission is investigating the Denver Broncos.
The investigation centers on possible campaign violations following
a March rally for presidential candidate George W. Bush held at the
Broncos' training camp. A complaint, filed by an unidentified Boulder,
Colo., resident, was followed up by the FEC because the law bans corporations
from backing any "clearly identified candidate." According to a team
spokesman, no laws were broken by holding the rally.

EAST LANSING, Mich.

Spartans
featured on cereal box

Kellogg
Co. is producing a special edition of its Frosted Flakes cereal in honor
of the NCAA basketball champion Michigan State Spartans. The box cover
features coach Tom Izzo and players Mateen Cleaves, A.J. Granger and
Morris Peterson with the companys Tony the Tiger character. Its
the first time Kellogg has featured a college basketball champion on
its Frosted Flakes box. The box will be sold primarily throughout Michigan.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.

Nets
freeze ticket prices

The
New Jersey Nets will keep the same ticket-price structure for all seats
for next season as for this past season. Nets ticket prices range from
$80 to $5 a game. The team finished 31-51 this year.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.

City
has big plans for soccer

The
city of Fort Lauderdale, led by local business executive Ben Wagman,
is launching a campaign to become recognized as the capital of soccer
in the United States. According to a Miami Herald report, plans call
for turning the citys Lockhart Stadium into a $30 million to $40
million training center for the U.S. Soccer Federation. The stadium
is home to Major League Soccers Miami Fusion.

HOUSTON

Grand
Prix to honor Andretti

Legendary
race car driver Mario Andretti will be honored at this years Texaco/Havoline
Grand Prix of Houston gala benefiting local charities. The Houston Police
Activities League, Neighborhood Centers, La Rosa and the Sunshine Kids
Foundation will receive proceeds from the Mayors Grand Prix Gala
slated for Sept. 27 and the Mayors Grand Prix Golf Tournament
set for Sept. 28. The Grand Prix is part of the CART FedEx Championship
Series. Actor and race car driver Paul Newman and Houston Mayor Lee
Brown are co-chairs of the gala.

KANSAS CITY

Golf
sponsor planning extension

TD
Waterhouse Group Inc. officials were discussing a four-year extension
of their sponsorship of the local Senior PGA Tour event. TD Waterhouse,
the nations second-largest discount brokerage, just completed
a two-year title sponsorship.

LOS ANGELES

Miller
ties charity to Dodgers

Miller
Brewing Co. will donate $100 to the Tools for Success program for each
home run hit by the Los Angeles Dodgers this season. The program provides
scholarships to vocational students. Millers contributions under
its agreement with the Dodgers will be dedicated to students in Los
Angeles.

MIAMI

Panthers
keep prices down

The
Florida Panthers are keeping ticket prices the same for both season
tickets and individual-game tickets next season as they were this season
for the majority of seats in National Car Rental Center. Some ticket
prices are being cut. The Panthers averaged 15,999 fans a game this
season, down from 18,501 the previous year.

Radio host organizes charity

Steve
Goldstein, host of sports station WQAM-AMs The First Team,
has organized a nonprofit community-oriented program that gives children
at various schools and charity organizations a chance to attend pro
sporting events when they otherwise wouldnt get that privilege.

Marlins support in low tide

The
Florida Marlins posted their smallest crowd in the history of the franchise,
6,955, for a game against San Diego on May 17. The low turnout came
at the same time that team officials began meeting with stadium architects
to discuss a new ballpark smaller in scale than what the team originally
had planned, according to a Palm Beach Post report.

MILWAUKEE

Golf
charity to benefit hospital

Pro
golfer Skip Kendall, a native of Fox Point, Wis., has been awarded a
charity golf tournament that will be held in Milwaukee on Sept. 11.
The Skip Kendall Pro-Am Fore Kids, to benefit Childrens Hospital
of Wisconsin, will feature country music singers Vince Gill and Amy
Grant. Organizers expect the event to raise $200,000 for the hospital.
Kendall has invited fellow Wisconsin golfer Steve Stricker and other
PGA pros to attend.

NASCAR, lottery team up for game

The
Wisconsin Lottery is teaming with NASCAR to introduce a racing-themed
Race for Cash game next month. NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth, a native
of Cambridge, Wis., will be part of the promotion with five other NASCAR
drivers. Tickets will cost $2 each, and the top prize is $25,000.

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL

Wild
signs for practice ice

The
NHL expansion Minnesota Wild reached an agreement with the Minneapolis
Park and Recreation Board for the team to use Parade Ice Garden as a
practice facility throughout the 2000-01 season. The team will conduct
its first practice there in September and will use the facility whenever
the ice at the teams New St. Paul Arena is not available.

Arena poised for management change

The
Target Center is poised for a change in management companies, according
to Dana Warg, executive director of the arena, which is home to the
Minnesota Timberwolves. New York City-based SFX Entertainment Inc. is
expected to be announced as the replacement for Ogden Corp. in the next
several months.

Committee picked for AD search

The
University of Minnesota selected a 14-member search committee that will
work during the summer to find a new mens athletic director. School
officials hope to hire someone by the beginning of the fall semester.

MOBILE, Ala.

Saints
bringing NFL to city

The
New Orleans Saints will hold an open practice at Ladd-Peedles Stadium
in Mobile to mark New Orleans Saints Day in the city on Aug. 19. The
practice will mark the first time an NFL team has practiced or played
in the city in more than 40 years. The Mobile Area Sports Commission
is working to coordinate the event. Mobile is about 120 miles east of
New Orleans and about 175 miles east of the Saints training camp
home in Thibodaux, La.

NEW YORK

Hilfiger
race ready to run

The
first 1,000 runners to register for the tommys american
4-miler road race in Central Park on July 4 will get free passes
to the Joan Jett concert at the park later that day. The race is part
of the second annual tommys american running series
of 13-races across the country produced by Tommy Hilfiger Toiletries
and the New York Road Runners Club. The races will benefit local chapters
of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

ORLANDO

NFL
rookies hit town again

For
the third consecutive year, 32 of the NFLs draftees gathered in
Orlando this month for a series of events called the Acclaim Sports
NFL Players Rookie Premiere. The event primarily is a photo shoot for
trading-card companies, but it becomes a chance for the rookies to interact
with fans in the area and spend time at charity events like the Give
Kids the World Village in Kissimmee, Fla.

Postage stamps honor youth sports

The
U.S. Postal Service was scheduled last Saturday to unveil a series of
postage stamps honoring youth team sports. The dedication ceremony was
scheduled in conjunction with the Amateur Athletic Union National Tournaments
at Disneys Wide World of Sports.

PHILADELPHIA
n Flyers, Phillies target fan behavior
n Teams set pace in attendance
n Philadelphias sports teams are taking steps to crack down on
rowdy fan behavior. Flyers fans at a recent playoff game at the First
Union Center were handed cards that outlined a no-tolerance policy calling
for the arrest and revocation of ticket privileges for any fan exhibiting
poor behavior. The cards told fans that spotters were placed throughout
the arena and urged fans to point out any troublemakers to security
personnel. The Phillies announced they now will charge fans who run
on the field with a misdemeanor offense, which carries a fine of up
to $2,500 and one year in jail.
n The Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League and the Philadelphia
Kixx of the National Professional Soccer League led their leagues in
attendance this season, despite a drop in numbers from last year. The
Phantoms averaged 10,039 fans this season, down 16 percent. The Kixx
averaged 8,081 fans for the teams 22 homes games, a 10 percent
drop from last year.

PHOENIX

Baseball
season sparks employment

Restaurants
and bars in Arizona hired about 1,500 workers in April, due in large
part to the start of the baseball season, according to the monthly labor
report published by the Arizona Department of Economic Security. Many
of the new jobs were added in and around Bank One Ballpark, home of
the Arizona Diamondbacks.

PITTSBURGH

Foundation
plans soccer stadium

The
Sports Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance youth
sports, plans to build a soccer stadium estimated to cost between $30
million and $45 million for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the United
Soccer Leagues A-League. The facility is being billed as only
the third soccer-only stadium in the country, joining venues in Charleston,
S.C., and Columbus, Ohio. The stadium is set to open in April 2002 and
will include at least 24 soccer fields.

PORTLAND

Rockies seal relocation deal

Portland
Family Entertainment has reached an agreement to relocate the Class
A Portland Rockies of the Northwest League to Pasco, Wash., in time
for the 2001 season. The deal follows PFEs agreement to purchase
the Class AAA Albuquerque (N.M.) Dukes and move the team to Portland.
PFE signed a 10-year lease to operate Pascos 4,000-seat stadium,
where the Tri-Cities Posse of the independent Western Baseball League
currently plays.

SACRAMENTO

City
preps for Olympic trials

In
an effort to help draw tourists, organizers of the July 14-23 U.S. Olympic
Track and Field Trials are sprucing up the host stadium at California
State University Sacramento. Parts of the bleacher fencing have been
cut through to allow for improved access. Two large video screens will
be placed in the end zones of the stadium, while temporary skyboxes
will be erected in the south end zone.

River Cats create business center

The
Class AAA Sacramento River Cats are featuring a dedicated business center
at the teams new Raley Field. Fans can use the facility to send
a fax, retrieve e-mail or type documents on a personal computer. The
100-square-foot center is located within the $40 million stadiums
souvenir store. The facility, which was seen as a way to help sell corporate
suites, will be provided as a free service to fans.

Pro sports return to Marysville

Professional
baseball has returned to the city of Marysville, about 40 miles north
of Sacramento. The Feather River Mudcats of the independent Western
Baseball League played their opening game May 19 at city-owned Bryant
Field. The city last had a professional team, the Marysville Giants,
50 years ago.

SAN DIEGO

Padres
clear legal hump

The
last two of 12 legal actions filed in San Diego Superior Court against
the San Diego Padres proposed downtown ballpark and redevelopment
project were dismissed on May 19. The judgments clear the way for the
city to move ahead with financing to let construction continue that
would allow the project to be completed by mid-2002.

ST. LOUIS

Blues
craft new radio deal

The
St. Louis Blues signed a letter of intent to broadcast games on KTRS-AM
through the 2002-03 season. The proposed agreement states that the radio
station will air all Blues regular season and playoff games, select
preseason games, a 30-minute pregame show and extensive postgame programming.
The decision ends the teams relationship with KMOX-AM, which has
broadcast Blues games almost every season since 1967, the teams
inaugural year. Team leaders were said to be unhappy with KMOXs
policy of pre-empting hockey with St. Louis Cardinals games.

Costas heads golf charity

NBC
broadcaster Bob Costas will serve as honorary chairman of the 20th annual
Boys Hope/Girls Hope Pro-Am Golf Tournament on June 26 at Whitmoor Country
Club and Missouri Bluffs Golf Club, both in nearby St. Charles, Mo.
All proceeds will be used for operational support of Boys Hope and Girls
Hope, long-term residential homes for children located in St. Louis.
Costas lives in St. Louis.

TAMPA-ST. PETERSBURG

Storm
players donate to children

Two
Tampa Bay Storm linemen are pledging $50 to the Boys and Girls Clubs
of Tampa Bay for each sack they make this Arena Football League season.
Darion Conner and Torry Epps launched the program, called The
Tampa Bay Sack Exchange, to benefit the clubs summer programs.
They are also donating 100 tickets for each Storm home game through
July at the Ice Palace in Tampa. The local Boys and Girls Clubs serve
about 3,000 youngsters a day throughout Hillsborough County.

Lightning supports cancer center

The
Tampa Bay Lightning recently donated $80,000 to the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer
Center & Research Institute in Tampa. The money for research was
raised via a golf tournament, a sports memorabilia auction and a seasonlong
jersey raffle. It was the second year of Lightning support for Moffitt.
Last year, the Lightning raised $45,000 for the center.

TORONTO

MLB
closes local office

Major
League Baseball has closed its Toronto office. The decision was made
by Major League Baseball executive Paul Beeston, formerly president
and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays and now MLBs COO. According to
league officials, the office was closed as part of an effort to centralize
business operations in MLBs headquarters in New York. Rick Amos,
director of sponsorship and media for MLB Properties Canada, is the
only one of five office employees whose job will continue there. The
Toronto office was responsible for Canadian licensing and promoting
licensed goods to retailers.

TROY, N.Y.

College
eyes Class A team

Hudson
Valley Community College is on track to be home to a Class A baseball
team next year. According to New York State Sen. Joseph Bruno, the state
budget includes $12 million to build a 4,500-seat stadium at the school
in Troy. Plans call for National Pastime Corp. of Pittsfield, Mass.,
to bring a New York-Penn League team to the stadium. The companys
current team, the Pittsfield Mets, is expected to be purchased and relocated
by the New York Mets after this season.

WASHINGTON

Jordan
brings help to Wizards

Michael
Jordan, president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards,
has asked Fred Whitfield to help run the team. Whitfield, a Charlotte-based
Nike executive, was hired to study salary cap issues for the NBA franchise.
Whitfield, who befriended Jordan before his NBA stardom, will join the
team next month.